MANSFIELD — When is the last time you got to watch and and hear music from a new opera performed in Mansfield — much less one written in English?
The Mid-Ohio Civic Opera is offering that chance Nov. 24 at 3 p.m. in Founder’s Auditorium at the Ohio State University-Mansfield.
“Wings of the Viking,” written by Sophia Pavlenko-Chandley, will be workshopped in cooperation with the Mid-Ohio Civic Opera, according to Joel Vega, director of the local organization.
Admission to the show is free to the 339-seat auditorium.
Pavlenko-Chandley, a world-renowned pianist and composer, lives in North Carolina with her husband, fellow pianist and conductor Paul Chandley. The duo has been coming to work with the local opera organization for the past decade.
“I told Sophia three years ago she needed to write a new opera. I pitched a bunch of ideas to her and she landed on the ‘Wings of a Viking,'” Vega said.
“We’re going to workshop it with piano, though they have it arranged for a full orchestra and it’s just gorgeous,” he said.
“Wings of the Viking” is loosely based on the first Christian Viking king.
“It’s kind of a retelling of a legend where he was captured by some of the tribes up there and he was forced (as a blacksmith) to forge weapons of war, but he just found this new religion of peace.
“So it’s all about that conflict where he’s got to make these weapons of war, but he’s just found this new religion of peace and he doesn’t want to. Eventually, he forges these gorgeous metal wings — kind of on his own time — and is able to fly away,” Vega said.
“It’s a story of magic .. of history … love … conflicts. It’s an opera of peace and love and escape,” he said.
“Brand new operas are rare. Brand new English (language) operas are rarer. And this is a brand new English opera by a woman composer. So that is the rarest of the rare,” Vega said.
“We expect that quite a lot of folks to come from Columbus and Cleveland, as well as local residents,” he said. “We have some wonderful national singers coming to participate.”
Vega said the show will include five principal roles and an “angel” chorus of eight to 12 people.
Principal roles will be played by renowned vocalists Andrew Potter, Megan Potter, Corey Lovelace, Daniel Stein and Ariel Downs.
Heidi Kirschenheiter Vega will provide an “angel” solo from the chorus.
“Dan, Andrew, Megan, and Heidi are all from Mansfield. Dan is now the head of the voice and opera department at Ohio University in Athens,” Vega said.
“Lovelace just sang with (Italian tenor) Andrea Bocelli in Charlotte,” he said.
“The music and the vocals will be really lush, thick, tuneful and singable music,” Vega said. “The singers will be standing with music stands, but they will be emoting and talking to each other.”
He said the local show is being made possible by Professor Joe Fahey at OSU-Mansfield.
“He has been a wonderful collaborator,” Vega said.
The workshop is just the start for “Wings of the Viking,” he said.
“The goal is to work out any kinks or tweaks that need to be made.
“Hopefully, within the next couple of years, when it’s set in stone, we’re going to perform it and then Sophia is just going to release it into the world and it gets performed across the country and internationally.”
Vega, now working on his own doctorate at OSU in Columbus, hopes area residents take advantage of the opportunity to see the new opera.
“Very few people get the privilege of seeing the first time a new opera is being performed and I hope people come and fill the out the seats for us,” he said.
